Situated west of England, the Republic of Ireland, also called Eire is formed of 26 counties for a total of close to 4 million people on an area of 70280 square km.

The biggest cities are:

Dublin with 1.5 million people

Cork with 125,000 people

Limerick with 54,000 people

And Galway with 70,000 people

The hotel and catering industry is taking a major role in the Irish economy, Ireland is attracting a increasing number of tourists due to the beauty of the whole Island, its remaining vestiges, the variety of its country side, surely the friendliness of its peoples and many more reasons. Hotels, restaurants, pubs and caterers have reached the quality that the continent can offer and is meeting the tourists expectations, Ireland has developed its own cuisine and offers a reputable quality of hospitality. In the Republic of Ireland, two languages are official, Gaelic and English, although Gaelic is still taught in schools, it is English that is spoken in every day life.

Salary deductions

-PRSI: The PRSI is your social coverage, you will receive a card after a few weeks working in Ireland giving you your prsi number which will be used if you need to go to the hospital, doctor…or as identification in some government offices such as the tax office.

-INCOME TAX: Taxes are deducted from pay, it is called “Pay As You Earn”, this is the only income tax, and unlike some other countries you won’t have to pay any tax at the end of your year.

It is very hard for any one to determine exactly how much tax you will have to pay, many different factors will come in to consideration such as your family situation (single, married), if you rent or own your accommodation, if you provide your uniforms or not…. The taxes are calculated from an annual wage and it is therefore impossible for a employer to provide you with a exact figure.

Within weeks of your arrival to work in to the country, the revenue commissioner will determine your "tax free allowance", meaning what part of your wages are not going to be subject to tax, once this is determined, you will then know your tax table. You will be able to get more information on taxes on the revenue commissioner’s web site at: www.revenue.ie THERE IS NO OTHER GOVERNMENT DEDUCTIONS

The above working conditions and tax figure are for the Republic of Ireland only, for Northern Ireland, please refer to united kingdom conditions.

Working visas

For the past few years, all EEA passport holders can freely work in any country of the European union, therefore, people coming from the following countries can work in Ireland without special permission: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom together with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

For those coming from any other countries, a working visa is required (except special cases, please visit the enterprise Ireland web site for more details).

How to apply for a visa:Only employers can apply for a visa on behalf of a prospective employee, it is therefore imperative if you are a job seeker from outside the EU to find a employer first if you wish to obtain permission to work in Ireland. Generally employers in Ireland will not organise a work permit therefore it is important that as a jobseeker you obtain a work permit yourself.

Obtaining a working visa can take up to several months and there is no guaranty that the visa will be granted.Permits are usually issued for a period length of one month to one year with the possibility to apply for a renewal at the end of the first permit.

Criteria for a work permit to be granted:Employers applying for a working visa on behalf of a prospective employee will generally be required to prove that it has not been possible in spite of reasonable effort being made to fill the vacancy with a Irish person or other person for whom a work permit is not required.

Transport to Ireland

Coming from the continent and the UK you may fly (the most important airports being Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Shannon) or bring your own vehicle by ferry mainly to Rosslare, Dublin or Belfast, in both cases your best option is to deal directly with your local travel agent to reserve seats or space.

Buses throughout Europe are also available and you may check the euro lines web site at: www.eurolines.com

Transport within Ireland

Although you may rent a car from any airport, cheaper and sometimes faster option (for someone that doesn’t know the country) is to go by bus or train, taxi services are also available in all cities at a reasonable cost.

You will find the time table for the buses at (+353) 1 836 6111 or on the web at: www.buseireann.ie

You will find the train’s table at (+353) 1 703 1842 or on the web at: www.irishrail.ie

Phone indicatives

The country is divided in areas, each area is coded by two digits, 01; 02; 04; 05; 06; 07 or 09

This two digit code is not required if you wish to call within your own area, however you will need it if you want to call outside your area.

If you call from outside the country, the country code is 353, you will need to suppress the first digit (0) of your area code, for example if you call someone with a 021 number, you need to dial: the outside code of your country (00 for most of Europe), 353 21………..